Broadband repeater with security for ultrawideband technologies

ABSTRACT

An ultrawideband radio transceiver/repeater provides a low cost infrastructure solution that merges wireless and wired network devices while providing connection to the plant, flexible repeater capabilities, network security, traffic monitoring and provisioning, and traffic flow control for wired and wireless connectivity of devices or networks. The ultrawideband radio transceiver/repeater can be implemented in discrete, integrated, distributed or embedded forms.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application60/496,913 filed Aug. 22, 2003, and U.S. Provisional Application60/498,324 filed Aug. 28, 2003, and the complete contents of bothapplications is herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to electronic signal and datarepeaters and, more particularly, to a repeater to be used inconjunction with ultrawideband technologies.

2. Background Description

In the coming years, ultrawideband (UWB) transmission technologies willdominate high data rate communications in the last 10-1000 meters ofwireless/portable access to a telecommunications grid. With the hugedata rates and position location capabilities afforded by UWB, offices,homes, and small environments such as doctors offices, vehicles, orsmall buildings will rely on UWB communication devices for connectionsbetween consumer electronic devices and computer devices.

As UWB devices proliferate, it will be possible to provide immense datarates, at burst rates up to 480 Megabits per second and even greater, inorder to create a wireless Universal Serial Bus (USB) capability orhome/enterprise networking capability. This will allow cameras,cellphones, computers, and computer and home entertainment and videosystems to have very good and fast data rate transmissions in small (say10 to 50 feet or greater) distances. The great data rates of UWB willopen up an entire new world of high speed personal area networks whichcurrently does not exist. Companies such as Time Domain, Xtreme SpectrumInc, Motorola, Intel and Texas Instruments, are likely to be leadingmanufacturers or developers of products for UWB communications.

In typical doctors offices, homes, apartment buildings, and largewarehouses and store rooms, etc, today there are Wireless (WiFi) accesspoints that can be connected to the ethernet backbone in order toprovide WLAN access and internet access to computer platforms. Thebackbone medium is typically Cat-3 or Cat-5 cabling that has 10baseT,100baseT or 1 GHz ethernet signaling, and higher. In the future, thisbackbone may be wireless, for example, where cable companies ortelephone/wireless/internet service providers may use mesh networks,WiMax, or last mile MIMO modem devices that bring broadband video,audio, and data/internet traffic to homes from lampposts or streetcorners. Satellite radio and fiber cable are also viable methods ofdelivering the backbone plant to buildings and cars.

Today, the expense of the WiFi access points is on the order of one toseveral hundred dollars when the hardware and installation is factoredin. These access points provide the ability of multiple WLAN users(typically computer or PDA users) to gain portable access the internet,and hot spots such as those implemented by Schlotzskys Deli andStarbucks are becoming popular throughout the world. However, these WiFiaccess points are made to allow users to access the internet, which is adifferent use and approach than is likely to emerge with UWB networks,which connect devices together in close-in networks.

Ultrawideband technologies are about to become mainstream, and aredescribed in US patent application 20030096578, published May 22, 2003,by John McCorkle, et. al. of Xtreme Spectrum, Inc., U.S. Pat. No.6,505,032 (the patent publication and U.S. patent being hereinincorporated by reference), as well as in “Recent Applications of UltraWideband Radar and Communications Systems”, by Robert Fonatna ofMultispectral Solutions, Inc. The IEEE 802.15.3 standards bodies havebeen developing Physical (PHY) and MAC layer standards for dynamicchannel selection and repeater service for UWB, which falls under thegeneral IEEE 802.15.3 standards body.

As explained in the powerpoint presentation by Nishant Kumar, ofVirginia Tech's MPRG, as well as in the IEEE standards proceedings, theIEEE 802.15.3 MAC operation provides for repeater service request andrepeater service grant commands. Devices use passive scanning to listenfor beacon frames or for any nearby user device. If there are not nearbydevices which are radiating, a device may establish its own piconet.There are a number of frame and superframe structures, and subsectionswhich permit various types of access, such as contention based schemesusing, for example, carrier sense multiple access (CSMA), as well asguaranteed time slots for asynchronous or isochoronous data streams andmanagement time slots.

While the MAC standard suggests repeater service to be used by IEEE802.15.3 devices when the links between devices are not satisfactory,these types of links can only be established if there is sufficient timeavailable in the channel seen by one of the devices which is involved inthe repeating operation. As proliferation of UWB devices is likely to berapid, there is likely to be contention such that the current mode ofMAC repeater operation, envisioned by the presently proposed 802.15.3standard, is not adequate to provide one or more of sufficient security,proper traffic filtering, bandwidth provisioning, network managementfeatures, or flexibility of networks that can be installed or controlledeasily by a consumer. That is to say, the current repeater operationcontemplated by 802.15.3 and proposed UWB devices is based on theassumption that a single chip can perform necessary repeater functions,but this functionality alone will not be adequate for the rapidemergence of UWB and the onslaught of wireless data that is certain tooccur.

Currently, IEEE 802.15.3a, the Ultrawideband Physical Layer standardcommittee, is working on creating a standard that may either beMultiband OFDM transmission (MBOA), with 500 MHz channels, or a DirectSequence Spread Spectrum impulse radio standard that has broader channelbandwidths (UWB Forum). Ratification of one or both of these standardsmay occur by the end of 2004, as described in a recent paper submittedto High Frequency Electronics, coauthored by the present inventor.

The High-Tech article by Woz Ahmed and Bipin Parmar (the Chilli)provides a glimpse at the various activities in the Ultrawidebandstandard bodies. Ultra-Wideband Technology was also discussed in the NewTechnology Bulletin in March 2001, Vol. 1, Issue 7, before the multibandOFDM proposal was created. In fact, Time Domain's Paul Withingtonpresented the talk “Time Modulated Ultra-Wideband” to the FederalWireless User's Forum in May 2001. As described by Robert X. Cringely inhis Aug. 8, 2002 article, “Good News!”, it was mentioned that XtremeSpectrum had already produced a working UWB chip capable of 100 megabitsper second over 10 meters, and the article further explained the idea ofmesh networking, which will provide efficient network paths that allowvery high data rates across the internet for remote downloading offiles.

In “Ultrawideband.ca Mesh Networking Explained”, Ultrawideband.caexplains they have software that allows a user to install, on their PC,a MeshBoot disk which attempts to find internet gateways at particularInternet Protocol addresses using a DHCP client. If no gateway can befound, the software causes the users' PC to simply serve as a wirelessrepeater-cell. This type of operation is controlled by the software onthe CD, and requires installation by the user. In future years, thereare parallels that can be drawn between some of the features andfunctionality in the MeshBoot software for Internet use, and thecapabilities that will be required to be embedded in network hardware,rather than provided on a CD for installation on PCs, in order tosupport massive amounts of traffic in and around homes and offices(Rather than on the world-wide web or Internet).

Repeaters are well known in the art, and they have been manufactured fordecades in the cellular and PCS industries, and more recently, a companyin Melbourne Fla., WiDeFi has developed WiFi repeaters for the IEEE802.11a/b marketplace (See WiDeFi web pages describing their patentpending designs for range and bridge extension for Wireless LANstandards). Buffalo Technology announced a bridge and repeater productfor IEEE 802.11g wireless LAN WiFi standard on Jun. 17, 2003 (SeeSmallNet Builder website page), and indicated that its repeater providespoint-to-point or 6 station point-to-multi-point operation. Buffaloindicated it had security features such as WiFi Protected Access (WPA),WEP, Password protection, and MAC address association control. It uses abrowser based interface for configuration, and has a 10/100 Ethernet LANconnection port, and sells for the suggested price of $149. SMC Networksintroduced, on Jun. 6, 2003, its SMC2671W 2.4 GHzGHz 11 Mbps WirelessEthernet Adapater, which provides an interface between the wiredinternet backbone and the wireless LAN network. It also has wirelessrepeater capabilities for WLAN range extension, and has both Ad-Hoc(peer-to-peer) and Infrastructure (client to AP) operating modes, WEPencryption, WPA, MAC Address filtering, and SSID Broadcast Disable. Ituses a web browser or Window-based administration software forconfiguration. Andrew Corporation makes classic PCS/Cellular repeaters,such as the fully integrated PROPAGATOR repeater shown on its webpage.The repeater uses standard 110 VAC power and has a single package forall signal processing components. Qualcomm has recently developedrepeater technology for CDMA.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This document describes a new type of wireless network device that willbe required as wideband UWB devices proliferate rapidly. In anticipationof the increased traffic, ubiquity, security and bandwidth provisioningneeds of future UWB devices, we disclose a low cost repeater/transceiverthat is tailored for easy and rapid deployment to facilitate theinterconnection of network devices using ultrawideband radio, which willlikely be standardized by or before 2005. Ultrawideband is meant here tobe any type of electromagnetic signals that have an instantaneous oroverall occupied bandwidth of 100 MHz or more and that are used tocommunicate or to position-locate between 2 or more devices. Such widebandwidths, when considered to have the same RF power transmitter levelsas today's wireless devices, require receivers to be within much closerpropagation distances than conventional cellular/PCS and WiFi networks,due to the fundamentals of the Power-Bandwidth product. That is, for agiven RF transmit power level, a larger passband (e.g. RF channel)bandwidth generally implies a proportionally higher noise floor powerlevel, which requires UWB devices generally to be physically closer indistant to each other in order to obtain a sufficiently strong signal tonoise ratio (SNR) when compared to equal power devices with smallerpassband bandwidths. Thus, repeaters will become necessary to connectdevices over greater distances than the range of a single UWB device.

UWB adoption is likely to be rapid, and just as spam e-mail occurs todaywith increased frequency on the internet, wireless UWB devices will besubject to tremendous and increased amount of interference, spamtraffic, and RF interferences, as well as security attacks by rouge orspoofed message sources or unwanted transmitters. Proper repeaterfunctionality will require the ability to detect and process suchunwanted traffic in a personal or local area network, as well as toreport back attempted breaches of security or interference sources to anetwork controller or host device which is connected to the Internet(for example, the home computer, the media center, game console, or aremotely located server or security server that may be in a differentneighborhood or city but which is connected via Internet). The need toproperly process, filter, ensure security, and provide sufficient orprioritized bandwidth will also emerge because of future wirelessnetworks that will allow devices in the home or office to remainconnected to the outdoor wireless network through roaming systems andprotocols, as proposed by Dong-Ho Cho in US Patent Application 20020198977 Published Dec. 26, 2002, and other networks such as thosedescribed by Rappaport in “Wireless Communications: Principles andPractice”, 2/e, c. 2002 and the invited 50^(th) anniversary paper byRappaport, et. al., Wireless Communications: Past Events and FuturePerspectives, June 2002, IEEE Communications Magazine.

In future UWB applications in the home or office, it is likely that onlyone or two devices, such as a computer, a server, or a television set orgame console, will need to be connected to the ethernet/internetbackbone (the plant that comes in to the home or office or car, etc.),while many other devices, such as home entertainment systems,telephones, portable computers, video monitors, anddisplay/video/audio/entertainment devices in the home or office will beuntethered within the same room or within several tens of meters ofthese “fixed” or stationary internet-connected devices. Of course, thesefixed devices connected to the plant may also be portable or mobile, infact, as wireless proliferates. In hospitals, hotels, or homes andoffices and businesses, the UWB technologies will open up an entirelynew way of communicating high data rates, and will create entirely newarchitectures for communications within small spaces (e.g, homes,apartment buildings, cars, stores, offices, etc.). In vehicles, trains,aircraft, and other moving platforms, one can envision a single or a fewmain devices connected to an outside wireless internet connection, whilein the vehicle itself, piconets will be formed between UWB devices.

The invention described here is a low cost ultrawideband repeaterdevice, which allows a home or office user to rapidly deploy a repeaterwhich can extend the range of these UWB piconets, so that a home orbusiness owner does not have to install wiring such as Cat-5 cablethroughout an office or home. Instead of wires which carry the internettraffic from today's cable or T1 or DSL jack to a particular device, theUWB repeater invented here will allow just one or a handful ofinternet-connected devices to serve as the “internet source” for a localwireless network, and the disclosed invention will better enable that“source” to serve as the local hub or access point for a whole host ofportable or fixed UWB devices in a home or office.

It is thus the goals of the present invention to meet at least some orall of the following objectives, which are specified subsequently inthis application:

It is an object of the invention to provide a method and system thatallows the Internet, Cable TV, satellite, telephone, or othercommunications sources to be connected from the external wired orwireless plant and distributed by UWB radio within an indoor orin-vehicle environment.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a method and systemthat enables ultrawideband radio signals to be repeated by a UWB radiodevice within an indoor or in-vehicle environment.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a method and systemthat enables ultrawideband radio signals and baseband signals carried onwires to be connected together in a single device, while allowing UWBradio signals to be repeated in the RF spectrum and baseband signals tobe routed on wires within an indoor or in-vehicle environment.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a method and systemthat provides the selective screening of data received over UWB radio orbaseband, where such selective screening of data is based upon thereceived UWB data or upon preprogrammed control instructions provided bythe desired network or from a desired source.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a method and systemthat provides the selective screening of data received over UWB radio orbaseband, where such selective screening of data is based upon thereceived UWB data or upon preprogrammed control instructions provided bythe desired network or from a desired source.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a method and systemthat provides the selective screening of data received over UWB radio orbaseband, where such selective screening of data ignores, rejects, orkills received UWB data that is from undesired networks or fromundesired sources.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a method and systemthat provides the selective modification of data received over UWB radioor baseband, and provides said modified data for retransmission on UWBradio frequencies, or for storage.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a method and systemthat ignores, rejects, or kills received UWB data that is from undesirednetworks or from undesired sources.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a method and systemthat provides selective and adaptive priorities on UWB messages that areto be repeated or stored.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a method and systemof monitoring network traffic statistics over a UWB network, and toreport such statistics to a central host controlling unit or to theplant.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a method and systemof maintaining a UWB network, through the periodic reporting of trafficconditions, user numbers, user locations, statistics, interferencelevels, and IDs observed.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a method and systemthat provides for flexible and adaptive data processing for real timedetection, flexible transmission rates, different PHY and MACimplementations, adaptive ID or watermark transmissions, transmissionspertaining to network quality, network activity, or security breaches,position location transmissions, or repeat or beacon transmission atpreset intervals.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a method and systemthat provides an adaptive UWB radio interface, depending on the priorityof the message, or the instantaneous radio channel conditions,interference conditions, or undesired traffic in the network.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a method and systemthat provides for the use of adaptable, steerable, electronic phasing,or MIMO (multiple-input multiple-output) antennas with UWB networks toimprove wireless network performance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, aspects and advantages will be betterunderstood from the following detailed description of the preferredembodiments of the invention with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a Personal Area Network in a home, business, vehicle,or some other personal environment consisting of a host device and anumber of portable devices, each equipped with UWB technology.

FIG. 2 illustrates a Personal Area Network in a close-in space,consisting of a host device, a number of portable devices, all equippedwith UWB technology, and the disclosed UWB repeater invention, as wellas an undesired neighboring transmitter.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of the UWB repeater.

FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of the UWB repeater, using a moreintegrated approach with more reliance upon signal processing andsoftware.

FIG. 5 illustrates an architectural diagram of the UWB repeateroperation with security and filtering.

FIG. 6 illustrates the UWB repeater using combined RF and basebandsignaling capabilities.

FIG. 7 illustrates a flow diagram of UWB repeater processing.

FIG. 8 illustrates the current invention as embedded in an AC outlet.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The Ultrawideband repeater disclosed here serves to “repeat” datasignals coming from one or many devices so that other devices, locatedfarther away from the “source” will be able to access the internet,Cable TV, Satellite source, phone/DSL line, or other broadband “plant”source via the repeater. This will obviate the need for any wiringwhatsoever in homes and offices, and will enable rapid deployment ofnetworks that perform properly and adapt to traffic loading, spam,interference, and desired characteristics of the plant provider of thenetwork owner (e.g. home owner, enterprise owner, vehicle owner). Therepeater will provide for additional coverage and will enable high datarate channels to work in confined environments more efficiently and morereliably than stock UWB equipment currently being offered by themarketplace. The invention here offers advantages, flexibility, andimproved performance and security than the currently proposed IEEE802.15.3 activities which call for “repeater service” as part of the MACdefinition.

The disclosed Ultrawideband repeater has the additional important andnovel capabilities of being able to filter and process data, and toprovide for the storage, processing, and forwarding of received data atthe input, and also allows for the suppression or “killing” of data thatis not part of the desired network or which may be from undesired users,spammers, or interference sources. Also, the ability of the device toprioritize traffic access and flows, based on application requirements,make this invention a powerful device used to enable high bandwidthpersonal area networks, where a number of wireless devices in a home oroffice or car all share the same UWB spectrum without requiring wiring,but which may have different real time requirements, differentpriorities and bandwidth requirements, and different securityrequirements. Thus, the intelligence of the repeater, afforded byprocessing, storage, and antenna/RF control is a marked improvement overwhat is currently contemplated or known.

The invention differs from prior art because, among a number of reasons,of the much greater bandwidth of UWB compared with current wirelessdevices, and the presently unforeseen challenges and unmet solutionsthat UWB will encounter because of the massive amounts of wirelesstraffic that will occur. The invented repeater and associatedarchitecture solves a critical and unmet need for future high speed UWBnetworks, and provides needed network coverage, performance, security,filtering, addressability, configuration, and connectivity for a home orbusiness or vehicle personal area network. The invention provides needednetwork infrastructure to provide coverage where only one or a fewsources can be linked to the ethernet or another telecommunicationsbackbone (e.g., a central server/hub, or a “plant”, which may be anoptical cable source, RF, coax, baseband, satellite signaling, etc.) Atthe same time, the disclosed invention provides embedded security andtraffic intelligence, and the ability to interpret, modify, andselectively filter wireless traffic for the benefit of the network user.In addition, the disclosed invention works with both wireless UWBtransmissions, as well as with standard baseband wiring-types of datatransmissions, allowing the invention to be addressable by andresponsive to wired networks as well as the wireless networks. In fact,the present invention allows for the fusing of wireless and wirednetwork components so that they may be commingled and served by a singleplant or server, within the same network. Thus, the inventionfacilitates new capabilities in connecting UWB equipped devices througha repeater operation for many other devices that may exist in a room oroffice or building or vehicle. In this way, for example, a doctor'soffice complex would only need to have a single computer, say thereceptionist's desk computer or a media center, which might be connectedto the internet, cable TV, copper line, or satellite station, and thissingle computer could serve as the host computer or server to the officenetwork. If this receptionist's desk computer or a media center isequipped with a UWB radio, and all other devices, for example, portablecomputers, pen tablets, gaming devices, video monitors, or Voice over IPportable communicator devices used in the office, were configured to beon the same network (piconet) as this desk computer, then our inventionwould allow coverage and data transmission throughout the entire officecomplex, rather than being limited in range to 10 or 20 feet as would bethe case for a single point-to-point communication between 2 UWBdevices. Wired network devices could also be connected and served on thesame network, serviced by the same plant, using the disclosed invention.Also, at the same time, the described invention provides a low cost wayof providing massive data transfers, with bandwidth prioritization andsecurity, network monitoring, and “network learning” and spam filteringnot currently available in today's wireless devices. Thus, the inventionhelps improve and facilitate wireless high speed networking, for bothmobile/portable and fixed applications, in environments such as stores,homes, apartments, cars, and factories, etc. where broadband datacommunications between devices, and access to the plant by severalnetworked devices is necessary.

FIG. 1 shows the internet connection 10 coming into the home or office,which may be data only, or analog voice and data, where this “backbone”connection may be provided using wires or fiber (such as T1, T3, DSL,cable, cable modem, OC3, etc.) or wireless (last mile wireless service,mesh networks, LMDS, MMDS, WiMax, Satellite, 802.16, 802.20,802.11a/b/g, or some other wireless distribution mechanism, such as802.15.3.a, etc.). Once in the home or office (or vehicle, etc.), a hostdevice 12, such as personal computer or server, or building router (apersonal computer, as an example, is shown in FIG. 1) is connected tothe backbone. The host device 12 is further equipped with a UWBtransceiver 14, which may be integrated, stand alone, plug-in, or partof a multi-band, multi-mode radio that is either discrete or embeddedwithin a microprocessor chip, or which is connected to, attachable to,insertable into, or integrated within the host device. Plug-in cards,discrete components, embedded devices and other such embodiments arecontemplated. Once connected to the backbone internet and the UWBtransceiver 14, the host device 12 is able to facilitate communicationto other UWB devices in the home or office. For example, in FIG. 1,provided that the distance is short enough and the local interference islow enough, it is possible for the UWB Transceiver on the host device tosupport meaningful communications to a UWB-equipped Portable Tablecomputer 16, a UWB-equipped television set 18, a UWB-equipped telephone20, and even a UWB-equipped wrist watch 22, as examples but notlimitations to viable uses of UWB wireless technology for personal areanetworks. As explained in the prior art, UWB possess sufficiently highbandwidth that new services, such as ranging or position location areeasily incorporated with high speed communications, and the currentinvention considers supporting the myriad of applications andimplementations of UWB devices. Using the standards proposed in the IEEE802.15.3 committees, it is known that it would be possible to configurePersonal Area Networks such as shown in FIG. 1 using UWB, all withoutwiring up the local area.

Note, however, from FIG. 1, that the distances (d1, d2, d3, d4) betweendevices vary, and the local environment may have walls or metalpartitions that cause signals to decay or fade (not shown). Thus, it ispossible that the host device 12, which is typically (but notnecessarily) fixed, may not be close enough to all locations whereportable users of the UWB network which to operate from at a particularinstant of time. Furthermore, since the signal power falls off withdistance, UWB transceivers that are further away from the host 12 willbe more susceptible to interference from undesired users or noisesources (not shown), and will also be more susceptible to securitybreaches or spam attacks by undesired transmitters (not shown). Batterylife of portable devices will also be shorter for those which have toprovide sufficient bandwidths over longer distances (higher powerconsumption).

Now consider FIG. 2, where the same UWB network of FIG. 1 now containsthe invention, the UWB Repeater 24. With placement of the UWB repeater24, the distances between the host 12 and the repeater 24 are shorterthan the distances between the host and other users. Thus, the repeateris able to provide the ability to extend range to outlying users, whichwill be important to maintain high data rates in interference or crowdedspectral situations. Furthermore, the repeater 24 is also able toreceive the transmissions from the undesired transmitter, and may beequipped to ignore the undesired transmission, as well as instruct otherusers of the network to ignore the undesired transmission, thusimproving personal area network performance. With the invention used inthe Personal Area Network, battery life of portable devices may beextended, as well.

The repeater 24 of FIG. 2, in order to work properly, requires carefulsignal processing that is able to null out noise and interference acrossthe very wide bandwidth used by UWB (such as noise from an undesiredtransmitter or attacker 26). In addition, the repeater must providesignificant isolation between the input and the output, typically 40 to50 dB minimum and more if possible, in order to prevent oscillation andfeed forward interference. A wide range of techniques to perform suchelectrical performance are well understood by those skilled in the artof RF circuit and filter design. In addition, the UWB repeater 24 mustfaithfully re-transmit both the forward and reverse paths of a two waycommunication, and must provide uniform/even group delay across most, ifnot all, the occupied bandwidth of UWB.

As shown in FIG. 3, to possibly achieve fastest time to market, would beto implement this invention by using two UWB chips or devices 28 and28′. These may be standard UWB modem devices, with sufficiently fastcontrolling and memory circuitry that creates a data bridge 30 betweenthe two UWB chips. These two chips, and the controlling/memory circuitrybridge 30, are built and encapsulated in a housing or chamber 32 whichhas good electromagnetic isolation between the input side (the side inwhich signals needing to be repeated are entering) and the output side(the side in which signals that are being repeated are regenerated andreradiated). Power (either AC or DC) from a source 31 for the repeatercan be provided from a battery or an outlet. Also, an RF switch forswitching/processing antennas may be integrated in the controllercircuitry, or may be a separate, discrete component or series ofcomponents, such as a butler matrix circuit, simple RF single-pullmultiple-throw, or phase shifter network for phased array antennas, or awide range of well known antenna switching or phasing/processingmechanisms. While FIG. 3 shows a preferred embodiment, it should beclear that the entire assembly could be implemented in a differentmanner, for example using mixed-signal circuitry and included on asingle chip, or a hybrid chip could be used and packaged as a singledevice, or discrete RF/baseband ICs could be developed and used. Theability to control RF antenna signals, coupled with baseband processing,would allow many well known Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO)antenna technologies to be used to improve link quality. It also shouldbe clear that each of the antennas (32, 34, and 36 shown in FIGS. 3, and38 and 40 shown in FIG. 4) may be a single antenna, multiple antennas,antenna arrays, and may take on many different physical forms.

Each physical side of the UWB repeater invention may at one time serveas the input and another time serve as the output, as the inventionoffers simplex, half duplex, or full duplex capability. It should beunderstood that each side of the invention could itself use MIMOantennas or phased/steerable antennas. Similarly, the forward or reversesignal path may use either side of the UWB repeater. Antennas, such asthose developed by Prof. Hao Ling at the WNCG at University of Texas,and by Warren Stutzman of Virginia Tech, allow wideband UWBtransmissions with some directionality, and these are easily sprayed onor built from metal stock using metallic film on plastic cases.Dielectric antennas, or antennas with inherent notching capabilities,may also be incorporated as is known in the prior art. Thedirectionality helps with isolation between the input and output of therepeater. Further, the repeater may use multiple antennas, in a sectorarrangement, that can automatically be sensed and switched by the UWBdevices and/or the controller circuitry, in order to focus energy indirections of where devices needing to be transmitted through therepeater are located. This could be used on both or either transmit orreceive operations. A wideband RF switch, which may be a MEMS devicesuch as contemplated by Hughes Electronics or Teravicta of Austin, Tex.,is part of the circuitry contained within the repeater, so that variousantenna selections are made. Alternately, RF switches can be avoided andRF processing may be used to provide Maximum Ratio Combining, LinearCombining, Equal Weight Combining, or MIMO implementations, all whichare well understood by those skilled in the art, may be made. Otherlow-cost RF switches could be employed, as well, for antennaphasing/steering and selection, and the switch could actually beincorporated in future UWB chipsets or other integrated circuitry invarious ways known now and in the future.

As shown in FIG. 4, an alternative approach to creating the UWB repeaterinvention, rather than using two stock UWB devices with some additionalcontrol and memory logic for data processing, signal processing, andantenna switching or diversity/beam forming, would be to use a truebent-pipe repeater approach, where all signals at the input are simplyre-radiated at the output. Note that the very wide bandwidths involvedwith UWB make this approach more difficult today, yet viable in a lownoise environment that does not have swamping. Even in higher noiseenvironments, DSP noise cancellation and wideband compensation such asphase linear processing, and careful isolation and compensation acrossthe wideband spectrum could be employed. This type of DSP processingwill be available in reasonably low cost platforms within the nextseveral years.

Alternatively, FIG. 4 represents an application specific integratedcircuit 42 made of Si, SiGe, GaAs, or other known materials eitherwithin a chip, a system on a chip, or discrete circuitry, could befabricated to implement an integrated repeater with processing circuitsfor data processing that provides network security and data buffering aswell as desired bandwidth provisioning for different applicationspassing through the repeater. Clearly, an integrated antenna would be aless expensive per-part product price, once the design was perfected,and a single antenna repeater with near omni-directional radiationpattern offers lower costs to manufacture, and would be more preferablefor generic in-home or office use. As noted in FIG. 3, power (either ACor DC) can be provided by a source 31, such as a batter or outlet.

Note that instead of using multiple antennas and having two “sides” (aninput and an output) as shown in FIG. 4, the UWB repeater could insteaduse a single antenna, and could use a vast memory (either onboard inchip or external to the RF or processing circuitry) to simply buffer andretransmit the received data. This would induce a greater delay in therepeated signal, but would provide a less expensive form factor, due tofewer antennas, would offer smaller size, and would save costs due tothe lack of expense incurred with an RF switch for the antennas. Inaddition, a store and forward approach embodiment such as contemplatedin this paragraph would remove isolation concerns that provide designchallenges in bent-pipe or simultaneous receive/transmit repeaters.

A key part of this invention, which is now described, is the dataprocessing capabilities afforded by the UWB Repeater disclosed herein.FIG. 5 illustrates the architecture of the invention, which includes RFcomponent 50 and 50′, baseband component 52 and 52′, pipeline component54 and 54′, memory 56, and a controller 58 with an integrated orseparate processor component 60. Each of these architectural componentsmay be used for both the received (incoming) and repeated (outgoing)signals, or may be replicated so that one set of components is used forthe incoming side and one set of components is used for the output side.(e.g., see FIGS. 3 and 4 and alternate embodiments described). Thepipeline, processing, control circuitry and memory may be the sameentity (e.g. all contained within a microprocessor, a DSP engine, ormicrocontroller, for example), and it may also be the same physicalcircuit or chip that also contains also the baseband and RF components.Alternatively, the memory (or any one of the other components, orcombinations of components) may be in a separate chip or device. Notethat the architectural components shown in FIG. 5 may be of a wide rangeof varieties and physical structures that may be on chip or on aseparate chip or substrates, or may be distributed in different piecesof equipment or embedded in other components or circuit boards, orembedded in firmware, software, or operating system software, not shownexplicitly. It is clear that multiple processors and multiplereplications or parallel implementations of the embodiment shown in FIG.5 may be practiced. Alternatively, the pipeline processors or memory (orother components) shown in FIG. 5 may actually be the same physicaldevice, and may only require a single device for handling both input andoutput functions. While the architecture shown in FIG. 5 is a preferredembodiment, the functionality of the architecture, described below, maybe implemented in alternate embodiments with varying approaches toproviding the functional architecture, which are not meant to beexcluded or limited herein. It should be clear that well-known signalingdetails, such as clock signals, analog and digital voltage sources, andpower supplies, etc., while not explicitly shown in FIG. 5, are known toone of ordinary skill to be a required part of any functional device,and the sources of such signals could be provided in a distributedfashion or represented within any one of the architectural componentsduring normal operation.

Note that the architecture of FIG. 5, when equipped with a sufficientlypowerful baseband component 52 and 52′, allows the UWB repeater to beused in a hybrid wireless-wireline network, where input signals may beapplied directly to the baseband component 52, and output signals may besent out the baseband component 52′, for example, using standardEthernet, DSL, ATM, SoNET, or other standard baseband signaling format.When implemented using parallel components (e.g. parallel baseband andpipeline functions or multithread processing or fast time slicing), thearchitecture of the invention allows for both RF UWB signals andbaseband signals to be received at the input-side, and both RF andbaseband signaling to be transmitted at the output-side, due to the factthat the baseband processor is able to implement both wireline PHY andMAC standards, as well as wireless UWB standards (or a universalPHY/MAC). This is shown in FIG. 6.

The ability to handle both wireless network and wired network traffic isa valuable capability, as it allows the disclosed UWBtransceiver/repeater 62 to not only function in an all-wireless network,but allows it to be connected in a hybrid network, where wired devicesand wireless devices may all be connected together through theinvention, making it easier for the consumer to connect multiple devicesin a home, for example, or to connect all devices (both wired andwireless) to a single plant connection 63 (an internet plug, forexample) in the home (thus, the invention not only provides repeaterfunctionality, but also itself may be connected to anInternet/DSL/Cable/Satellite/Wireless backbone plant or server). It ispossible that both input signals at RF and input signals at basebandcould arrive at the invention simultaneously, and may be properlyprocessed and filtered and buffered and routed to provide networkconnectivity to other devices and the plant or server, as well asproviding additional sources of data for traffic statistics, security,monitoring, and network maintenance chores. This architecture enables alow cost, flexible UWB repeater to serve as a junction box, connectingboth wired and wireless devices to the same network, and optionally tothe backbone plant, as well (See FIG. 6).

FIG. 7 shows a flow chart of the processing steps preferably performedby the invention, it being understood that the order of these steps maybe varied. The controller component of the UWB Repeater/Transceiverarchitecture first acquires network information and/or desiredperformance criteria at step 64. That is to say, the controllercomponent of the disclosed UWB repeater must be given explicit orimplicit operating instructions, either from the plant, from the networkitself, from one or more components in the network, from the owner oroperator of the network, or from a rule-base developed from past historyof the repeater itself, or from the particular device or devices theinvention is intended to communicate with in the network. When embeddedin a consumer electronic device, such as a PC, a car, or a home mediacenter, the controller component may be accessed by a very simple userinterface provided for the user, that allows the user to enter in one ormore of a network ID (his or her own password or desired name, etc.), alisting of equipment to be configured, a count of equipment that theyown, a listing of computer applications to be used in the network, arough coverage area of particular wireless devices or components shewishes to have connected on the network, or other such data necessary toprovide a rough guideline of the network operational characteristicsdesired by the user.

To be clear, however, an alternative embodiment would require no userinteraction, as the home media device or the UWB repeater device itselfmay have a unique serial number ID associated with it, or may have someembedded data, or a table look up for a particular application, and thismay be used (in connection with other data, such as provided by theplant) as the basis to launch transmissions in the network to detect and“train” all other UWB devices in the home network to assure they areproperly connected to the network, all without any intervention orknowledge by the user.

Once it knows the “parameters” or “openness of the network” and knowsthe characteristics or ID's of those devices that “belong” on thewireless network, the controller component is able to then providelow-level instructions for the proper functioning of the UWB repeater.In this manner, the controller component establishes initial operationmode settings for the repeater at step 66, so that the busses areproperly configured and the architectural components are preset toproperly respond to various signals or conditions received from the UWBinput-side, the plant, the wired network, or from the host device, etc.In other words, preset conditions (initial operation mode settings) mayinstruct the repeater to perform certain functions in a wide range ofscenarios. For example, the initial operational mode settings mayinstruct the repeater to provide: (A) normal repeater functions(bent-pipe operation) with no storage functionality when the RF channelis clean and no spammer or interferer is detected at the input side ofthe UWB repeater, (B) to provide no repeater function when spam isdetected, and (C) to report traffic statistics to the strongest orclosest network component when a particular command is receivedover-the-air or on the baseband network. This is meant to simplyillustrate the processing logic which is possible, and is merely arepresentative example not intended to limit the possible set of logictables and condition mappings that are possible. It is clear thatcommand and control logic can be created to provide sufficientflexibility and breadth of preset conditions. Further examples are giventhroughout the text below. It should be clear that for rapid flexibilityand adaptability, preset conditions for several operational scenariosprovides a low-overhead way of assuring the architectural componentshave access to the busses and to each other, in an efficient manner,when a key event (a trigger event) occurs due to a received signal ordue to a need to transmit.

The controller component receives and sends electronic signals via oneor more busses from one or more of the RF, baseband, memory, pipeline,and processor components. The controller has connection with the othercomponents of the transceiver architecture, and facilitates instructionsthat may be read or written between each of the components over a bus(for example, I2C bus or new higher speed busses). Thus, communicationof instructions and control signals and information may be written orread between the components, using either serial or parallel andunidirectional or bidirectional bus structures. The controller componentis able to address each other component of the architecture within theUWB repeater, and then has the ability to read or write control data toeach component as shown in step 68, in order to establish or learnoperating conditions from the received input signals or plant, toinstruct devices with preset instructions, or to provide instructionsthat have been established by the network or user or application that isbeing received or transmitted by the invention. The proper configurationand access to the busses is preprogrammed (preset) for specificoperational instructions depending on the operational conditionsencountered by the repeater. That is, each component, based on receivedsignals and the computations performed during normal preset programmedoperation which proceeds according to step 70, knows through presetinstructions how it should send signals to the controller or to theother architectural components, for proper desired operation in variousoperational conditions.

A trigger event 72 occurs when there is a perceptible change orinstruction, obtained through either the data received over the air onthe UWB radio channel(s), or through the wired baseband network, orthrough instructions issued by the host unit housing the invention 74,or through data received from the plant 76. The order of these andpossibly other trigger events caused by the repeater reacting toparticular received data or host device, plant, or server instructions,could be different from that shown in FIG. 7. A trigger event may alsooccur when the transmitter is instructed or preprogrammed to transmitdata (not shown in FIG. 7 flow diagram). Trigger events are due tosignaling which is found to trip a condition or to signify a change inthe current operation condition, or may occur due to preprogrammed,timing-based instructions previously instructed and preset by thecontroller component. Depending on the interpretation of the triggerevent (performed by the controller architecture in conjunction withother architectural elements), the UWB repeater may simply continue tooperate with the preset mode settings as originally programmed (with thesame preset operational conditions), or a new course of action may needto be taken, in which the trigger event causes the controllerarchitecture to consider providing new preset instructions for variousoperational conditions going forward.

The controller architecture determines at step 78 if such new presetinstructions are needed, based on the computational results of thepipeline and processing components, in conjunction with memory, and mayuse one or more rule-based algorithms that tracks history, or may simplyfollow instructions specified by the network user, the host device, theplant, or the repeater itself. As described in more detail below,trigger events (e.g., 72, 74, 76, etc.) occur when there is a change inthe network, and may be due to the reception of undesired data at theUWB input-side, undesired data on the baseband network, errant orcounterfeited or spoofed ID's, watermarks, or a wide range of importantconditions that indicate a change in network performance, the user'sapplication, security conditions, signal or data integrity of desiredtransmissions, or the presence of jammers, hackers, or interferers.

As an example of how a trigger event may be detected, and to understandwhy the controller may wish to assign a different set of presetinstructions for operational conditions going forward after a particulartrigger event, consider the example of a UWB repeater functioning in abenign RF environment without interference. The device is receivingtransmissions from desired in-network components and is retransmittingthem, per the normal operational instructions. Now, assume a spammer orhacker attempts to jam or intrude on the network. The disclosedinvention is able to detect the demodulated signal using the processingpower pipeline processor in conjunction with memory and the processor,that the intruder is not a valid in-network component, and in fact mayfurther check the intruder's ID or characteristics to find a match withan “unwanted” list of known attackers housed in memory. This detectionof the intruder is a trigger event. Now, consider the case where thepreset operational instructions simply called for the repeater to stopretransmitting the intruder's transmission when an intruder is detected.Now, because the hacker appeared on the “unwanted” list in memory, thisintruder may be deemed to be a serious problem, in which case thecontroller architecture has the opportunity to alter the presetinstructions for operational conditions going forward, as is done instep 80, and it may be advisable to now alert other devices and the hostcomputer of the presence of the hacker whenever it is detected goingforward. The new preset instructions passed from the controllercomponent to the other architectural components may now be such that ifthe hacker transmission is identified again at the input-side of therepeater the repeater doesn't stop retransmitting (as before), but nowthe repeater rebroadcasts a warning message, an alert message, or amessage to the network that instructs all other users of the hacker. Itshould be clear that various techniques known now or in the future toprotect from spamming and to avoid unwanted intrusions may beincorporated into the invention using the processing techniquesdescribed here.

Using the system and method described here, network usage, networkstatistics, network provisioning information, or network security statusfor particular users, devices, applications, transmissions, or ID'swould be known, measured or detected, and can be stored and communicatedto a network server, another network component, a device controller, orthrough the plant using techniques known now or in the future.

The controller component updates the preset instructions for operationalconditions at step 80, and provides actual control of RF and basebandsignals, at a relatively slow rate (slow relative to the individualper-bit durations of the multi-megabit per second data rate received andsent by the invention over the air). Slow tasks for 100 Megabit persecond data transmission for example, would require processing andcontrol signaling on the order of a microsecond or so, as opposed tofast real-time data processing that would require speeds on the order of10 nanoseconds or faster (such fast processing is handled by thepipeline and processing components, and the baseband and RF components).It should be clear that slow and fast are relative, and that this shouldin no way be limiting, since real time and “near” real time speeds shallchange over time, application, and technology. Slow tasks handled by thecontroller component include enabling the adaptive signal processing, sothat the initial antenna configurations may adapt to interference from anew transmitting source, or halting the transmission of an undesiredsignal, or the halting of spam over packet duration or multiple packetduration intervals (rather than bit duration intervals), or determiningand invoking new instructions for operational conditions, or instructingmemory or computation operations to begin or end, or instructing variouswarning or response messages or traffic statistics to be computed orreported. The actual computational chores invoked by these instructionalmessages by the controller architecture may happen at much faster rates.For example, the controller architecture is required to issue controlsignals to allow for antenna pointing, steering/phasing, MIMO adaptationto be invoked, and once the controller component enables thisfunctionality to the appropriate architectural components, the on-goingprocessing and signal manipulations and adaptations occur at much fasterspeeds.

The controller architecture provides preset instructions for operationalconditions to various components, as well as enabling what operationsthey should perform ahead of time of the actual trigger event (e.g., thepipeline devices would be instructed the network ID or watermark tosearch for, or the particular error control coding or MAC or PHY that isto be used). The controller architecture also provides operationalinstructions to the memory, for gathering of data and statistics, aswell as providing event-driven (trigger-driven) instructions forhandling the gating of packets and data. Also, the controller allows theprocessor to communicate the results of its computations to otherarchitectural components, or translates the results (with the aid of theprocessor) into control signals. Clearly, for implementing securityfeatures and software radio/antenna pointing chores, signal results mustbe detected and computational problems must be solved by the Pipelineand Processor components, as well as baseband and RF components, asdescribed below, and the results of these solved computations must beused to continually drive the proper performance of the device withoutdelays imposed by the controller component. The controller thus providesthe initial and overall approval, and then simply facilitates thecommunication of such commands and instructions, and ensures the bussesconnecting the components are properly aligned for the specific tasksthat need to occur for particular fast and slow processing and datapassing chores.

As shown in FIG. 7, the UWB repeater continues to process in the mannerdescribed above, in a continual loop as shown in step 82, until aninstruction to terminate operation is received as shown in step 84(either received from a data source—wired or over the air, or from theplant, or the host device, or from the controller architecture, or thepower supply is simply turned off to the device), at which point theprocessing is completed as noted in step 86

To describe the architecture of the invention in more detail, and toprovide further examples to illuminate FIGS. 6 and 7, the followingdetailed description is useful.

Memory may take a wide range of forms as understood by those skilled inthe art, including high speed RAM, DRAM, Flash chips, memory sticks,removable disks, etc, and this memory may be programmable, static,dynamic, random access, optically-processed, etc. such that vast amountsof data received at the input of the invention may at any time bestored, buffered, processed, interpreted, or retransmitted. The powerrequired for the memory may be supplied by the same power supply thatpowers the processor and RF components, or it may be a separatelyprovided DC or AC power supply, depending on the particularimplementation or structure. For example, if the disclosed UWBTransceiver were embedded in a plug-in memory stick, it would likelyreceive power and data flows from the standard USE expansion slot,whereas if the invention were embedded within a PC or MediaEntertainment Center, the pipeline processor, memory and UWB RF andbaseband circuitry might be embedded in a chip or an assembly on themother board of the PC, itself, thereby obtaining power from theinternal PC supply. Memory is used by the present invention to store oneor more of received data, forwarded data, to hold data strings orcompressed versions of such strings needed by the controller orprocessor, to store execution instructions of the processor orcontroller, to store watermarks, identification data, (ID's), PHI or MACinstructions, other software radio instructions, calibration settings,table-look-up data for modulation, demodulation, coding, antennapointing, antenna phasing, coding and decoding, processed datastatistics, or any other data that needs to be stored and retrievedlater. Memory may actually be comprised of different technologies, withdifferent power levels, sizes, speeds, etc. whereas some part of memoryis used for very fast storing and recalling, and the other part ofmemory is for longer term storage that does not have to be accessed veryquickly.

The pipeline component processes data on a bit by bit or word by wordbasis, and thus has an extremely fast ability to process or makedecisions on applied data. They have special architecture and housetheir own memory, and are designed specifically for rapid real-timedata-streaming processing. The Pipeline component is able to implementreal-time processing algorithms (such as coding, etc.) or compare orprocess inputted data to a preset pattern of data in a very streamlined,fast manner (e.g. it can function as a digital matched filter, orcorrelator, an error correction coder or decoder, a check sum counter,or provide other fast, bit-by-bit computational functions that providevery rapid processing typically required in broadband communications),thereby allowing the device to know whether patterns of data areproperly tagged or apportioned. Stripping of headers in packets, findingID's of words or bit-sequences in data streams, detecting or correctingbit errors, verifying or inserting watermarks in data transmissions,detecting security information, such as keys, passwords, handshake data,etc. are typical tasks performed by the Pipeline. The Controller is ableto instruct the Pipeline component as to which data should be checked,and may also provide timing or observation interval information, aswell.

Furthermore, the pipeline process is instructed to correct errors orinsert ID's or watermarks or security data on transmissions, if it hasbeen so instructed to by the controller. This is a powerful feature thatallows the device to modify the data for retransmission in the network.For example, if the invention is used in a home network, a particularhome network ID or watermark or key code may be assigned (inserted intothe data) of all desired home network transmissions, and the Pipelinecomponent on the input-side of the repeater may be instructed by theController to constantly search for this ID or watermark or key code tobe received in order to determine the received signal is “desirable” orvalid and that it should be repeated for retransmission. If errorsoccur, the invention may modify the received data stream for errorcorrection. Alternatively, the network may need to change the watermarkor ID or key code of the received data, and the invention is able tomake such alterations to received data, and retransmit the altered data.

Also, the pipeline component may be constantly be searching for“critical” or “unwanted” or bad transmissions, which have data streams,ID's, erroneous crypto words, or other identifying data segments orinformation that is stored or updated in memory and which can becompared to received data. Such critical or unwanted transmissions maybe indicative of an attack or unwanted spam or an emergency reason tostop transmitting, and upon receipt of such data, the invention may,under previously set directions of the controller component, send analarm message or urgent traffic message, or may send a message fornetwork shutdown or device shutdown.

Depending on the type of network, the desired security, the particularprotocol or common air interface, PHY, MAC, the particular watermark orID, etc., it may be desired for the received signal to be immediatelyretransmitted (repeated) at the output-side of the repeater with minimaldelay, in which case the controller would have directed the pipelinecomponent to pass the data immediately to the baseband modulator on theoutput side of the repeater. (In this case, the pipeline components mayhave modified the data to correct errors, insert ID's, insert positionor time stamp information, pass along network statistics ortraffic/spam/utilization data, or other important network-specific datathat is to be carried and repeated for the particular application orparticular network implementation). This streamlined operation avoidsdelays in reading and writing to and from memory, and would provide anextremely fast retransmit time, while allowing modification or repair ofreceived data. Alternatively, while the data is sent to the output-side,it may also be stored in the memory simultaneously (most likely througha memory pre-buffer that is used to capture all the data in parallel asit is sent to the transmitter, but with a sufficiently deep buffer thatallows the transmitted data to be cached and stored to memory whichoperates at slower speeds than over-the-air RF transmissions—this is notshown but understood to one skilled in the art). Furthermore, thecontroller may have provided instructions to the pipeline device thatupon one or more particular received data streams (for example, datastreams that have been associated with Spam, peer-to-peer, or undesiredtransmissions, and which were stored in memory and earlier communicatedto the pipeline device and stored there), the pipeline device is notconnected directly to the baseband component of the output side, butinstead the data passed by the pipeline component is stored directly tomemory, or is simply ignored. In this manner, the invention is able todetect and filter unwanted RF data. The device may also have a reradiatemode, where received RF data stream is demodulated, pipelined, stored inmemory or modified with a network ID, watermark, or counter, and thenrebroadcast back to the originating RF source. This would be valuablefor position location determination using time delay and/or signalstrength measurement or prediction (as explained in many well knownreferences, including work by Bahl, Rappaport, US Wireless, etc.),auditing of the network to determine how many devices are on thenetwork, and with what ID's or watermarks or codes, determiningpropagation times, or used as part of a network throughput measurementscheme or traffic monitoring capability, etc.

The controller component thus works to ensure the Pipeline component andthe memory and the Processor component, and the busses are properlyconfigured to handle the desired chores. Received data is received atRF, demodulated at Baseband, and passed to the pipeline component, andthe preprogrammed pipeline processing component thus works with thecontroller and the memory to either store (and not retransmit) thereceived data, store and forward (e.g. retransmit) the received datathrough the baseband and RF components on the output-side of therepeater, or alternatively the repeater may ignore the received data andnot store it, or store the received data and retransmit it back to theoriginating source. Alternatively, the received data may be stored andretransmitted out of one or more antennas, including the antenna whichoriginally received the received data. Furthermore, the data may bemodified by the pipeline processing circuitry (or by the processor andmemory) once its received, for example, to strip off unwanted or hostiledata contained in the received data stream at the input of the repeater,or to add bit or packet changes in the packet data structure toimplement ID or security or validation or bandwidth priority informationin the repeated data which is radiated out of the repeater. Thus, theUWB repeater has the ability to monitor data which it receives, as wellas to store it, forward it, return it, or modify it. All the while, thememory, working in conjunction with the processor, may use a differentor same thread to build statistics and observe particular behaviors ofthe traffic, including the ability to sniff the packets and determinedesired and undesired users, attacks on the home or vehicle orenterprise network. Thus modification of the MAC and IP layers, based onthe flow of data or the availability of errors or desired QoS detectedby the controller, is contemplated and capable with the invention.

It should be clear that the above description and following preferredembodiment emphasizes modification of a received signal and theassociated processing steps prior to retransmission out of the UWBrepeater. However, it should also be clear that similar functionalityand capabilities may be achieved for the transmitted signal itself,where the same architectural components may be used to similarlyprocess, modify, store, retransmit, or ignore signals that are otherwiseintended to be sent to the output side of the device. Also, preparedmessages or messages based on the computation of statistics or memorycontents, messages based on alarms, network activity, the errors ortransmissions or security breaches or ID's detected on the input-side ofthe repeater, or messages that are meant to synchronize for timing,positioning, or used to simply communicate the repeater's health,status, or alarm status (due to spamming or RF overload or interference,for example) may be sent by using the memory and based on resultscomputed from the processor component or controller component. Suchmessages or data transmissions may be read out of memory, or processedthrough the pipeline component, passed to the baseband and RF componentsfor transmissions to the output-side of the repeater. This enables theinvention to provide beacon signals and messages regarding traffic,security, spam alert, alarm, position location, network use or, otherpreset messages for use in various applications, independent of theexact data being received at the moment by the input-side of theinvention.

The capability of the UWB repeater to process and to modify the bitstreams sent and received is powerful, as future security methodologieswill rely on streamlined processing to implement rapid/dynamic keychanges, dynamic network ID or watermark changes, and to allowauthentication and validation. Emerging security standards, such as IEEE802.11i, which use dynamic keys and strong codes, as well as EAP,801.1X, WPA, and future security techniques that may encompass bothindoor and outdoor networks, will be able to be used by the disclosedinvention, due to the capabilities of the processing and themodification capabilities of streams flowing in and out of the repeater.Furthermore, the repeater itself will be addressable on the personalarea network, allowing the host/master “source” device, such as theoffice PC or TV console, to inquire, control, and to gathercharacteristics of piconet users, their traffic, attacks, throughputperformance, coverage performance, or unintended or intended usagethrough the repeater. For example, the host could access the memory ofthe UWB repeater for detailed data, as well as collect statisticsgathered and processed and stored by the UWB repeater, so that the humanuser of the network could gather a report of activity. Getting reportsback from the UWB repeater can be done over the same Personal areanetwork (PAN) that is used for wireless connectivity, or could becarried out using a wired network, if the invention happened to also beconnected to a wired backbone, such as Cat-5 Cable (As describedsubsequently, the UWB repeater invention may have internet connectionjacks that would allow it to also be connected to a wiredinfrastructure). Furthermore, without human intervention, the host couldgather data from the UWB device, and use that knowledge for real time ornear real time control for providing security, changes in security keysor protocols, changes in bandwidth provisioning, and could even providea termination of the home network from the internet, in order to preventthe home network from being attacked or compromised.

The ability of the UWB repeater to process data and gather traffic andnetwork conditions, including bandwidth provisioning data andsecurity-related data, will be extremely useful in appliances that serveas in-home or in-office network controllers and interfaces, where theInternet is connected and then served wirelessly throughout a building.The UWB Repeater disclosed here would be fully compatible with RADIUSservers, and in fact could help provide the connectivity required forhome devices to gain access to the Internet, as disclosed earlier. Aweb-enabled interface, or windows, or some other PC or Tivo/TV/VCR/CableModem/Satellite type programming interface could be supplied to programand control, as well as gather data from, the UWB repeater disclosedhere.

The controller uses memory, such as flash, dram, PROM, and a wide rangeof other possibilities, based on speed, price, form factor andavailability, to support the processing and buffer-and-forwardoperations. Coupled with the computational capabilities of the processorand pipeline components, and given the functionality of the baseband andRF components, one can readily see that a powerful network securitycapability can be implemented while simultaneously providing broader,reliable network coverage.

Consider one embodiment of the memory portion of this invention to belike today's Memory Sticks that currently have 60 MB of memory (but willhave much more in the future) and plug into a PC port for power—theinvention could have the same form factor, for example, as a plug inmemory stick today, where the UWB repeater invention, including memory,is simply plugged into an access port on a PC or other home appliance.The UWB repeater, if in the form of a plug in “stick”, could also enablethe equipped device (which could be the source/host device, or someother device in the PAN) to connect via the UWB home network, whilesupporting the repeater operation within the PAN, while providing thecapabilities of identifying the types of traffic and priorities whichshould be given such traffic within the PAN. Also, network managementprotocols and external devices and software, such as that located on thehost PC, may query and retrieve the gathered data at the UWB repeater,and may adjust or control the UWB repeater processing modes (via thecontroller component) for particular desired network goals—such asgreater security, more stringent prioritization on traffic, or evencomplete reboot/restart of processing in the UWB repeater. It is obviousto one skilled in the art that the UWB repeater could operate in concertwith other devices, such as the host or other users of the Personal AreaNetwork (e.g. home network) in order to provide distributedcommunication and command and control functions between the UWB repeaterand other devices. In fact, it should be clear that the architecturalstructure of the UWB repeater may be distributed between hardware,embedded software, and an operating system which ships separately fromthe hardware, such as Windows or Linux, so that mass-produced UWBrepeaters could be embedded or easily attached to existing appliances orcomputers.

The repeater may also have security provisioning such as an“authentication” or validation, as well as non-eradication function.Depending on the particular network scenario, network assignment stepscan ensure the UWB repeater is being used to “repeat” signals from onlythose devices which are intended to be repeated within the home oroffice. This functionality could be done at layer 1 (PHY) withidentification or authentication code sent over the air and detected bythe Repeater, or performed at layer 2 (MAC) with handshake with otherdevices on the network, or a combination of layers being used for thesecurity or authentication step, but this just as easily could beperformed at higher layers, even performed up at the application layer(such as with VPN, web login, telephone dial, or some othercomputer-controlled authentication implemented automatically by one ormore devices on the network, or implemented by the user on a softwareinterface, computer program, web site, or data entry method thatconnects to the home/office UWB network). Also, just as today's IEEE802.11 bridge/repeater products, the UWB repeater may be equipped withMAC address association control, and could easily have one or moreintegrated wired Ethernet port connections for use on a standard wiredEthernet connection (not shown in figures). These techniques are wellunderstood by those knowledgeable in IEEE 802.11a/b/g and 802.15.3a/bstandards activities, which have become widely popular in recent years,and the present invention, while not required by such standards, couldimplement such standards if the baseband and RF architectural componentswere properly configured to conform to the MAC and PHY standards.

For example, a preferred embodiment of this invention has the UWBtransceiver/repeater 88 be mounted in an AC outlet 90 for wall use orfor barrier-strip extension cord 92 use (See FIG. 8). Alternatively, thedevice could be integrated in a consumer electronic device (a cellphone,or PC, or a home entertainment center, for example), and would becontrolled by or interact with a software program running on a homecomputer or a game console or TV (a “host”). The host would allow theperson using the home/business/vehicle network to type in or use aremote control or mouse device to connect his or her own home/officenetwork, and the network would use UMB devices to communicate with eachother to provide the network, and in doing this manual configuration,the user is able to input identifiers, such as product name ormanufacturing codes or some other identifier of other appliances for thehome network that the user is able to enter. This operation may alsooccur automatically, without manual intervention by the user, by theself-configuring Personal Area network “waking up” and reading theserial numbers/device codes through the airwaves automatically, andfinding the UMB repeater.

Returning to the manual example of a home network appliance, in doingthis data entry, the user is implicitly setting up security featureswhich allow the myriad devices in the home to know they are on thedesired network, and the UWB repeater is then able to know, throughshared knowledge of this security information, which devices should be“repeated” and which devices (say from a neighboring building) should be“ignored” and not repeated. In this example, the UWB repeater could beembedded within the PC or cable TV product, or it could be communicatedto wirelessly or via cable by the home computer or cable TV product, orit even could serve as the host, itself, where it is connected to theinternet using wireless or wired means. Of course, one skilled in theart would understand the invention could also having no security or morelimited security, where some or all messages within earshot would berepeated by the UWB repeater, or whereby some messages would not berepeated due to inherent knowledge of local devices and their validsignaling or data transmission. Also, it is clear that much simpler,automated, or built in configuration capabilities for specification ofnetwork parameters or operational conditions could be supplied, saywithin an operating system, or embedded in software or hard codes in aconsumer device, itself.

In addition to security features disclosed above, the ability of the UWBRepeater to sense real-time data transmissions, such as network ID's orbit-streams associated with security or keys, allows any application toprovide its own data coding, carried above the MAC and PHY layers, toenable particular desired features of network provisioning and bandwidthprovisioning controls, so that some users (such as portable email or lowrate data or low rate audio) are allocated some delay, or less importantpriority, in being retransmitted than are high priority data, such asvideo data or voice over IP telephony, or high bandwidth messaging orurgent information which has less tolerance to delay. This quality ofservice (QOS) intelligence could be identified within the MAC, PHY ofstandardized UWB equipment, but also can be inserted and detected by thedisclosed invention when such signaling appears in the IP layer and/orother higher layers of the application data that is transmitted over thenetwork. Thus, the invention allows electronics makers to create theirown higher layer UWB protocol, or even a universal PHY and MAC layer,using standardized components, which also allows the UWB Repeater toprioritize and provision certain repeated data over other repeated data,by simply exploiting the fact that each UWB repeater device is able todetect actual data and can operate on such data using the architecturedescribed above (see FIGS. 5 and 7). For example, data bits which alertthe repeater and the network to the particular type of user/device canbe used to help prioritize the UWB repeater's processing of the datawhich is to be repeated. In fact, the UWB repeater could be used innetwork test, where the memory and controlling circuits are used toinduce a fixed, known, preset, or desired delay on particular trafficwhich is received by the repeater, in order to test “ringing of thenetwork” or to determine if attackers or interference are correlatedwith the operation/transmissions of particular devices on the PAN.

The form factor of the UWB repeater may take on a wide range of sizes,shapes, and mounting/fixture options. This repeater could be installedor embedded in PCs, servers, or appliances, or it could be a stand alonedevice that could be purchased and placed in any home or office,embedded within a fire alarm, air freshener, night light, or phone.Alternatively, it could be a plug-in device, much like plug-in chassiscards are used today to enable PLAN access or modem access in PCs.

FIG. 8 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention, embeddedwithin an AC Power strip. The AC strip could be built into the wall orpurchased as an extension cord in hardware stores, etc. Note that thepower strip has standard AC wiring to connect to the home or office ACpower, but also has a connection to the “plant”. This plant connection94, which is optional in the practice of the invention, may be aphysical connection, such as through a cable that connects the UWBtransceiver to an Ethernet port, Cable TV outlet, DSL outlet, etc., orthis port connection may be a wireless connection (for wireless access,the embedded UWB transceiver might be connected to a WiMax radio or MeshNetwork transceiver, enabling wireless to come in to the UWB transceiverand be redistributed through the repeating function. Alternatively, theplant connection may be optional or unused, and the UWB transceiversimply implements the repeating and security functions described herein.This is an example of one of the myriad of form factors that can beused.

One could use the invention as part of AC extension cords, photocopiers,game consoles, television/video displays, video consoles, hospital videoequipment, multimedia centers, air fresheners, fire alarms, etc.Fixtures, colors, shapes, and sizes may be very similar to fire alarmsor air fresheners that plug into AC outlets in the home, or are wiredinto a car DC power supply, and the repeater device may also becomeembedded in objects that are typically carried around the home oroffice, such as but not excluding cordless phones, cell phones, portablecomputers, home stereos, TVs, pet collars, tennis shoes, and a widerange of portable, common devices that when moved could provide a widearray of range extension and coverage improvements of UWB devices. Infact, devices which integrate video, gaming, audio, and computing willlikely benefit greatly from the disclosed invention. This invention maybe a stand alone plug-in device, or may be embedded in AC outlets,receptacle extensions, and could become part of future phones or ACextension cords. The positioning and ranging capabilities of UWB makethis applicable to tracking children and pets, or finding vehicles inlarge parking lots, as well.

It will be clear to one skilled in the art that the above disclosedinvention may be applied in a wide range of applications andconfigurations as captured in the scope of the appended claims.Furthermore, the specification is not limited to a particular radio airinterface standard or radio PHY or MAC definition or implementation.

1-44. (canceled)
 45. A network system, comprising: one or more devicesconfigured for ultrawideband communications wherein said one or moredevices either or both transmit and receive electromagnetic signals thathave an instantaneous or overall occupied bandwidth of 100 MHz or moreor that have a data transmission rate of 100 Megabits per second ormore, said one or more devices being selected from consumer electronicdevices and computer devices, wherein when said one or more devices is aplurality of devices said devices are the same or different from oneanother; and one or more broadband wireless relays, each of said one ormore broadband wireless relays containing at least one receiver and atleast one transmitter, and a controller, said controller is configurablefor operation in one or more wireless networks, said controllercooperating with said at least one receiver to receive transmissions ofsaid one or more devices, said controller cooperating with said at leastone receiver and said at least one transmitter to perform one or more ofa) ignore or filter out transmissions or data from one or more undesiredtransmitters, data sources, or noise sources; b) instruct one or more ofsaid one or more devices to ignore or disregard the transmissions ordata of one or more undesired transmitters, undesired users or noisesources; and c) network provisioning or monitoring for said one or moredevices, including one or more of i) bandwidth or delay provisioning,ii) application prioritization, and iii) traffic, bandwidth, delay ordata transmission priorities or monitoring for said one or more devices.46. The networked system of claim 45 wherein said controller performsa).
 47. The networked system of claim 45 wherein said at least onereceiver and said at least one transmitter operate in half duplex. 48.The networked system of claim 45 wherein said at least one receiver andsaid at least one transmitter operate in full duplex.
 49. The networkedsystem of claim 45 wherein said at least one receiver and said at leastone transmitter operate in simplex.
 50. The networked system of claim 45wherein at least one of said one or more devices has a higher data ratethan if said one or more broadband wireless relays was not present insaid one or more wireless networks.
 51. The networked system of claim 45wherein at least one of said one or more devices has a greater coveragedistance than if said one or more broadband wireless relays was notpresent in said one or more wireless networks.
 52. The networked systemof claim 45 wherein at least one of said one or more devices have higherquality of transmission or reception than if said one or more broadbandwireless relays was not present in said one or more wireless networks.53. The networked system of claim 45 wherein at least one of said one ormore devices has less interference than if said one or more broadbandwireless relays was not present in said one or more wireless networks.54. The networked system of claim 45 wherein at least one of said one ormore wireless networks has an improved ability to control its capacitythan if said one or more broadband wireless relays was not present insaid one or more wireless networks.
 55. The networked system of claim 45wherein said controller is configured to modify received data ortransmissions.
 56. The networked system of claim 55 wherein saidcontroller is configured to cause said one or more transmitters totransmit modified received data or transmissions to said one or moredevices.
 57. The networked system of claim 45 wherein said controller isconfigured to identify said one or more devices in said one or morewireless networks.
 58. The networked system of claim 45 wherein said oneor more broadband wireless relays employs MIMO or adaptive antennatechnology.
 59. The networked system of claim 45 wherein said controlleris self-configurable.
 60. The networked system of claim 45 wherein atleast one of said one or more wireless networks is in an in-vehicleenvironment and said controller is configurable for operation in saidin-vehicle environment.
 61. The networked system of claim 45 wherein atleast one of said one or more wireless networks is in an indoorenvironment and said controller is configurable for operation in saidindoor environment.
 62. The networked system of claim 45 wherein atleast one of said one or more wireless networks is in an outdoorenvironment and said controller is configurable for operation in saidoutdoor environment.
 63. The networked system of claim 45 wherein atleast one of said one or more wireless networks is a cellular networkand said controller is configurable for operation in said cellularnetwork.
 64. The networked system of claim 45 wherein said controllerperforms b).
 65. The networked system of claim 45 wherein said one ormore devices are selected from UWB equipped television, UWB equippedtelephone, UWB equipped cellphone, UWB repeater which is different fromsaid one or more broadband wireless relays, UWB equipped computer, UWBequipped camera, UWB equipped video system, UWB equipped airplane, UWBequipped monitor, UWB equipped power plug or wall outlet, UWB equippedwatch, UWB cable modem, UWB equipped vehicle, UWB equipped game console,and UWB transceiver.
 66. The networked system of claim 45 wherein saidcontroller is embedded into an integrated circuit chip which isinsertable into said one or more devices.
 67. The networked system ofclaim 45 wherein said one or more broadband wireless relays includes atleast one UWB repeater.